How to Dress a Table Loom

Dressing a loom is also called warping a loom. It refers to threading a loom with lengthwise threads, called the warp, so you can weave across them to make a fabric. Table looms are smaller than floor looms and easier to manage. There are several kinds of table looms, including the rigid heddle loom, which is the simplest, but they all warp similarly. The heddle is the center part that has alternating slots and holes for the thread. You raise or lower the heddle to lift or lower half the threads so you can weave the crosswise thread through all at once.

Instructions

1

Decide how wide and long you want your fabric to be. Add 20 to 25 percent to the length for waste yarn. For instance, if you want to weave two yards of fabric, you'll need the warp to be 72 inches long plus 25 percent, or a total of 90 inches long.

2

Clamp your loom to the tabletop close to the edge where you plan to sit and weave. Fasten a dowel on the back beam with rubber bands.

3

Fix an anchor for measuring the yarn some distance in front your loom. For instance, if the warp needs to be 90 inches long, measure from the back of your loom, across the front of the loom and beyond to a point 90 inches from the back of the loom. You'll need an anchor that doesn't move, such as a door knob, a hook screwed into the wall or whatever your ingenuity can devise. Tie the end of your yarn or thread to the anchor.

4

Bring the yarn over the front beam of the loom. Make a loop and pull the loop through the first slot in the heddle. Loop it over the dowel fastened to the back beam. Walk back to the anchor with the loose end of the yarn. Wrap it around the anchor, snugly but not so tightly it moves the anchor or the loom.

5

Walk back to the loom with the yarn again. Pull a loop through the next slot in the heddle and loop it around the dowel. You'll have to remove the rubber band on the end of the dowel each time and replace it after you slide the loop of yarn over the dowel. Ignore the holes in the heddle for now.

6

Keep walking back and forth with the yarn, feeding it through slots, attaching it to the dowel and walking back to loop it around the anchor again, until all the slots are filled. Cut the end of the yarn back at the anchor. Remove the yarn from the anchor, keeping it taut. Cut the loops at the anchor end. Tie the warp with a loose overhand knot near the anchor end.

7

Drape the loose end of the warp over a chair back to keep it from tangling. You may need a helper for the next part. Divide the yarns into smaller groups of 10 to 12 threads. Comb the threads with your fingers to keep them even and smooth. Tie them to a weight and let it hang down below the edge of the table. What you use for weights doesn't matter. Use kitchen utensils, bunches of keys, small coffee cups or whatever you have on hand. Tie the weight for each bundle of threads so it hangs over the chair back and dangles above the floor.

8

Place a large sheet of paper over the yarn at the back beam once you have combed, tightened and weighted all the yarn or thread. Begin to wind the yarn onto the back beam. Keep the edges very even, keep the tension even and use the paper to keep the yarn from bunching up and ruining the tension. You might find it better to do this part with a friend to help keep the yarn smooth and tight. One of you can pull lightly on the thread to keep it straight and smooth and the other can turn the beam. Keep winding until almost all the yarn is rolled up on the back beam and only a few inches are hanging over the front.

9

Untie one section of yarn at a time. Pull one thread out of the first slot in the heddle, and thread it into the hole next to the slot. Repeat with the next slot and hole, and continue until the entire bundle of 10 to 12 threads is done. Divide the threads into two groups, one group passing through the slots and the other group through the holes. Drop the group that passes through the slots under the front beam. Bring the other half of the threads over the front beam. Tie the two groups together, pulling them tightly to keep the tension smooth.

10

Repeat with the remaining groups of threads, until all the holes in the heddle have been threaded and all the yarns or threads are tied around the front beam.

11

Now start weaving, in front of the heddle. When necessary, wind the woven fabric on to the front beam, unwinding enough at the back beam to keep the tension tight.